Naps take Big Four advantage.
T&T Guardian Reports.
National Under-20 standout Jabari Mitchell opened and closed the scoring, while his T&T teammates Nicholas Dillon and Martieon Watson got one each to put Naparima in prime position to seal the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) double with a 5-2 away rout of Speyside Secondary.
Naparima, which entered the match trailing St Anthony’s College on goal difference, went above the “Tigers” as the latter team only edged San Juan North Secondary 4-3. The results ruled Speyside and San Juan out of contention for the title, while it opened the prospect of an exciting finale to the competition.
Naparima College will host St Anthony’s College in the third and final Big Four round robin match, at Lewis St, San Fernando, on Saturday.
San Juan took the lead over St Anthony’s after securing a winning result, which reflected an easy outing in Tobago. However, Speyside put on a good challenge particularly late in the first half and early in the second.
Naparima went 2-0 up in the 20th minute. Mitchell and Dillon scored within 60 seconds of the other. Speyside then responded in the 29th through top forward Brandon Benjamin, and got the equaliser five minutes into the second period.
But, two minutes later, Naparima retook the advantage with a goal from Watson, before substitute Akinola Gregory scored an insurance item in the 75th minute. Mitchell then completed the rout with virtually the final play of the match.
In Westmoorings, another national U-20 midfielder, Matthew Woo Ling opened for St Anthony’s, before Kwesi Allen secured a hat-trick to see the Premier Division runner-up to a narrow win.
When the top two teams meet on Saturday, a draw would suffice for Naparima to claim the title.
Standings
Teams Pld W D L F A Pts
Naparima 2 2 0 0 7 2 6
St Anthony’s 2 2 0 0 7 3 6
San Juan North 2 0 0 2 3 6 0
Speyside 2 0 0 2 2 8 0
Results
Naparima 5 (Jabari Mitchell 19, 90, Nicholas Dillon 20, Martieon Watson 53, Akinola Gregory 75) v Speyside 2 (Brandon Benjamin 29, Marcus Caesar 51)
St Anthony’s 4 (Matthew Woo Ling 20 pen, Kwesi Allen 30, 37, 84) v San Juan North 3 (Brent Sam 18, 50, Josiah Trimmingham 21)
Upcoming Fixture
Sat Nov 1
San Juan North Secondary vs Speyside Secondary, 3.30 pm, San Juan;
Naparima College vs St Anthony’s College, 3.30 pm, Lewis St, San Fernando.
Naparima hammer Speyside in Big Four
T&T Newsday Reports
TRINIDAD AND Tobago Under-20 football team midfielder Jabari Mitchell scored a pair as Naparima hammered Speyside 5-2 at Roxborough yesterday in the BGTT/First Citizens Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Premier Division Big Four.
And St Anthony’s slipped to second place, by virtue of an inferior goal difference to the Premier Division champions, despite beating San Juan North 4-3 at the St Anthony’s Ground in Westmoorings.
Mitchell opened the scoring in the 19th minute before his national youth team compatriot Nicholas Dillon extended the lead two minutes later.
Speyside evened up the scores with strikes from Brandon Benjamin (29th) and Sampson Caesar (51st) but Naparima changed gears and regained the lead when Akinola Gregory found the back of the net in the 54th.
Martheon Watson notched Naparima’s fourth in the 75th before Mitchell put the final nail in Speyside’s coffin when he got his brace, in stoppage time.
Another high-scorer yesterday was St Anthony’s centre-forward Kwesi Allen, who registered a hat-trick as the hosts earned a come-from-behind win, in front of their home fans. Isaiah McIntyre put San Juan ahead in the 18th minute but St Anthony’s restored parity two minutes later when Matthew Woo Ling converted a penalty.
Woo Ling’s national Under-20 teammate, Josiah Trimmingham, headed San Juan back in front in the 21st before Allen titled the balance in St Anthony’s favour with strikes in the 32nd and 37th.
The topsy-turvy affair continued in the second half when San Juan’s prolific forward Brent Sam made it 3-3 in the 51st but Allen had the final, and most decisive, say when he volleyed home the winner in the 85th.
The Big Four title will be decided on Saturday, from 3.30 pm, with Naparima hosting St Anthony’s at Lewis Street in San Fernando, while San Juan will be entertaining Speyside.
On October 25, the opening day of the Big Four, St Anthony’s whipped Speyside 3-0 while Naparima got past San Juan 2-0.
Nigel Grovesnor, coach of St Anthony’s, said that Saturday’s contest will be “a decider, a virtual final.”
Grovesnor noted that Woo Ling will be suspended for the Naparima match due to the accumulation of yellow cards.
“But the boys are upbeat,” Grovesnor said. “We are going to go all out. We know Naparima have the best all-round team, the most experienced team and they have good experienced coaches with them. So we’re going there just to have fun and whatever happens, happens.”
Naparima trounced St Anthony’s 5-1 on September 27 in the Premier Division.
Grovesnor stated that the St Anthony’s players are definitely eager for revenge.
“We had three losses - Naps, San Juan and CIC, so we have (revenge) on our minds,” he said. “Definitely it would not be easy. They had (revenge) on their minds when they played San Juan (yesterday) so now we have one more to go, that’s Naparima.”
